At 4.8% for July, the Ohio unemployment rate is firmly in pre-recession territory, and the state is on a job-gaining trend. But that doesn’t give the full picture of how things are for working Ohioans, says the state’s leading labor policy issues think tank.

Ohio's privatized economic-development agency says in its annual report that it's created a record 23,602 jobs last year.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that JobsOhio also attracted $6.7 billion in corporate investment last year, increasing the agency's percentage of both jobs landed and investments made by approximately 10 percent compared to 2014.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio saw more job openings during a 30-day period this fall that at any time since it began tracking those numbers in 2011.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that statewide there were 240,000 job openings posted between mid-October and mid-November. Nearly 50,000 were in central Ohio and more than 40 percent offered annual pay of $50,000 or more.

The biggest demand was for truck drivers, followed by registered nurses, retail workers and customer-service representatives.

UPDATE: As of Thursday, Dec. 17, it appears likely that Congress will fully fund the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant cleanup for FY2016. A spokesperson for the main contractor at the plant says it's too soon to be sure, but layoffs appear unlikely.

Norm and Betty Jo Anderson have lived in Piketon, Ohio, a tiny town in the Appalachian foothills, since the 1950s.

The crowd that gathered in the committee hearing room, the overflow room and Statehouse hallways was reminiscent of Senate Bill 5, the law aimed at public sector unions. Ohio voters overturned it back in 2011. The bill Republican Representative Tom Brinkman is sponsoring would prohibit requiring employees of private companies pay union dues. Brinkman said the so-called "Right to Work" legislation is needed because the Buckeye State is losing private sector jobs to other states that have it.

The Target Store in Springfield is closed, and a petition to keep the store open has been rejected.

The petition had a goal of 5,000 signatures, but only 3,089 had signed it by Thursday afternoon. A Target spokeswoman issued a statement later in the day saying the company respects its "loyal and dedicated customers," but had to close several stores in Ohio as part of a restructuring plan. A Target in Trotwood closed last year despite similar protests.

Clark County resident Karen Sloane was hoping this petition would have an effect.

The state still owes the federal government more than $775 million that it borrowed to pay unemployment benefits during the recession. Republican Representative Barbara Sears of the Toledo area has proposed some big changes to the state’s unemployment compensation program. That includes cutting off jobless benefits after 12 weeks instead of the current maximum of 26 weeks.